Basanti Devi

Basanti Devi (23 March 1880 – 7 May 1974) was an Indian

independence activist during the British rule in India. She was the
Basanti Devi
wife of activist Chittaranjan Das. After Das' arrest in 1921 and Born 23 March 1880
death in 1925, she took an active part in various political and social Died 7 May 1974 (aged 94)
movements and continued with social work post-independence.
She was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1973. Nationality Indian
Known for Independence activist

Life and activities Political Indian National

party Congress
Basanti Devi was born on 23 March 1880 to Baradanath Haldar, Movement Indian independence
the diwan of a large zamindary in Assam during the British movement
colonial rule. Basanti studied at the Loreto House, Kolkata, where
Spouse(s) Chittaranjan Das
she met and married Chittaranjan Das at the age of seventeen.[1]
The two had three children born between 1898 and 1901.[2] Awards Padma Vibhushan
(1973)
Following her husband, Basanti Devi took part in various
movements like the Civil disobedience movement and the Khilafat Movement and also participated in the
Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress in 1920. The following year, she joined Das' sisters Urmila
Devi and Sunita Devi to establish the "Nari Karma Mandir", a training center for women activists.[3] In
1920–21, she was instrumental in collecting gold ornaments and 2000 gold coins from Jalpaiguri towards
the Tilak Swaraj Fund.[4] During the Non-cooperation movement in 1921, the Indian National Congress
called for strikes and ban on foreign goods. In Kolkata, small groups of five volunteers were employed to
sell khadi, the hand spun clothes, on the streets of Kolkata. Das, who was the leading figure of the local
movement decided to make his wife Basanti Devi lead one such group. Devi went on streets despite
warnings from Subhash Chandra Bose that it would provoke the British to arrest her. Although she was
released by midnight, her arrest provided impetus to widespread agitation. Two prisons in Kolkata were
filled with revolutionary volunteers and detention camps were hastily constructed to detain more suspects.
On 10 December 1921 police arrested Das and Bose.[5]

After Das' arrest, Basanti Devi took charge of his weekly publication Bangalar Katha (The story of
Bengal).[6] She was the president of Bengal Provincial Congress in 1921–22. Through her speech at the
April 1922 Chittagong conference, she encouraged grassroot agitation. Travelling around India, she
supported cultural development of arts in order to oppose colonialism.[2]

As Das was the political mentor of Subhash Chandra Bose, Bose had great regard for Basanti Devi. After
Das's death in 1925, Bose is reported to have discussed his personal and political doubts with Devi.[7] Bose
considered Basanti Devi to be his "adopted mother" and she is considered to be amongst the four
prominent women in Bose's life, the other three being his mother Prabhabati, his sister-in-law Bibhabati
(wife of Sarat Chandra Bose) and his wife Emilie Schenkl.[8]

Like her husband, Basanti Devi too was sympathetic towards the revolutionary activists in the Indian
independence movement. In 1928, Indian freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai died days after being injured by
the police in a baton charge against his peaceful protest march. Following this, Basanti Devi exhorted the
Indian youth to avenge Lajpat Rai's death.[9][10]
Post India's independence in 1947, Basanti Devi continued with social work.[11] Basanti Devi College, the
first women's college in Kolkata to have been funded by Government was established in 1959 and named
after her.[2][12] In 1973, she was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian
award.[13][14]

References
1. Ray, Bharati (2002). Early Feminists of Colonial India: Sarala Devi Chaudhurani and
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (https://books.google.com/books?id=VVYqAAAAYAAJ&q=Ranj
an+Das+). Oxford University Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780195656978.
2. Smith, Bonnie G. (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=EFI7tr9XK6EC&q=basanti+devi+provincial+conference&pg=RA1-P
A43). Oxford University Press. pp. 42–43. ISBN 9780195148909.
3. R. S. Tripathi, R. P. Tiwari (1999). Perspectives on Indian Women (https://books.google.com/
books?id=npwz9iE5KMUC&pg=PA140). APH Publishing. pp. 136, 140.
ISBN 9788176480253.
4. Chatterjee, Srilata (2003). Congress Politics in Bengal 1919–1939 (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=joFkxloNlLsC&q=basanti+devi+provincial+conference&pg=PA118). Anthem
Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780857287571.
5. Bose, Sugata (2013). His Majesty's Opponent: Subhas Chandra Bose and India's Struggle
against Empire (https://books.google.com/books?id=eYctAAAAQBAJ&q=basanti+devi+Sub
has+Chandra+Bose&pg=PT69). Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184759327.
6. Bangla Academy Journal, Volume 21, Issue 2 – Volume 22, Issue 2 (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=33xjAAAAMAAJ&q=basanti+devi+bangalar+katha). Bangla Academy. 1995.
p. 23.
7. Pasricha, Ashu (2008). Encyclopaedia Eminent Thinkers (vol. : 16 The Political Thought Of
Subhas Chandra Bose) (https://books.google.com/books?id=MWGcmlexd9QC&pg=PA30).
Concept Publishing Company. pp. 30, 33. ISBN 9788180694967.
8. Basu, Krishna (2008). An Outsider in Politics (https://books.google.com/books?id=3xd2xS5
ELeQC&q=basanti+devi+Subhas+Chandra+Bose&pg=PA35). Penguin Books India. p. 55.
ISBN 9780670999552.
9. "Down Bhagat Singh lane" (https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl2921/stories/2012110
2292105300.htm). Frontline. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
10. "Bhagat Singh's association with Kolkata's Arya Samaj temple continues" (https://www.tribu
neindia.com/news/punjab/bhagat-singh-s-association-with-kolkata-s-arya-samaj-temple-con
tinues/660121.html). The Tribune. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
11. Ajita Kaura, Arpana Cour (1976). Directory of Indian Women Today, 1976 (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=PAkuAAAAYAAJ&q=basanti+devi). India International Publications.
p. 361.
12. "Basanti Devi College – History" (http://www.basantidevicollege.edu.in/About/History.shtml).
Basanti Devi College. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
13. "Padma Awards: Year wise list of recipients (1954–2014)" (https://web.archive.org/web/2016
1115022326/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/YearWiseListOfRecipientsBharatR
atnaPadmaAwards-1954-2014.pdf) (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 21 May 2014.
Archived from the original (http://www.mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/YearWiseListOf
RecipientsBharatRatnaPadmaAwards-1954-2014.pdf) (PDF) on 15 November 2016.
Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. Women on the March (https://books.google.com/books?id=IAZDAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA9-I
A10). Smt. Mukul Banerjee for the Women's Front of All India Congress Committee. 1973.

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